What Does A Bookkeeper Do?

If you have heard of the profession bookkeeper but don’t actually know what it refers to, it is about time we unveil the truth. Bookkeeping is in a nutshell one of the oldest ways to keep track of the incoming and outgoing payments and a lot more. A bookkeeper here is someone who produces financial records for businesses or organizations that include update statements, financial transactions, check financial records for accuracy etc.

Nowadays, bookkeepers are employed in many industries such as accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services. Also, they are employed in different levels of governments and schools. Below, we are going in more detail about the role of a bookkeeper.

The Role Of A Bookkeeper Basically, a bookkeeper is a person that uses bookkeeping software as well as online spreadsheets and databases, entering (post) financial transactions into the software, receiving and recording cash, checks as well as vouchers. Bookkeepers also put costs as well as income into this software and assign each to the appropriate account.

Aside from transactions, bookkeepers produce reports such as balance sheets, income statements and totals by account. They also check figures, postings and reports for their accuracy and note and report any differences in case they find them within the records.

From expenditures (money spent) to receipts (money coming in), accounts payable (bills to be paid) and accounts receivable (invoices) as well as profit and loss (reports that show the organization’s financial health), bookkeepers are typically in full charge of the organization’s books.

A Strong Understanding And Experience With Specialized Accounting Software There are some bookkeepers out there that are in full charge of the books of the organizations, and others that are only accounting clerks handling specific tasks. The latter uses basic mathematics such as adding and subtracting throughout the day as well as specialized accounting software, spreadsheets and databases to help their work.

Most of the time, the information from the bills or receipts is manually inserted into the software by these clerks and is therefore stored electronically. Hence, the role of a bookkeeper is not only to store data, but also calculate it. Even though software has advanced a lot over the years, the widespread use of computers has enabled bookkeepers to take on additional responsibilities such as purchasing, keeping track of overdue bills, payroll etc.

The Bottom Line In the end, it is safe to conclude that bookkeepers nowadays have more and more duties, as opposed to the common misjudgement that technology is slowly but surely erasing them. After all, bookkeepers are the people that prepare the bank deposits by compiling data from cashiers, verifying the receipts and sending cash, checks or other forms of payment that computers will never be able to complete.

From cheques to cash, calculation of interest and investments as well as handling the electronic books and data reconciliation (ensuring that the records match), bookkeepers are a vital part of every organization without which there won’t be good financial decisions.